Synopsis: During his years of life in the ocean in the search for the finest products to work on his chocolate, Willy found himself with his boat docked upon another island where he had never been before. The promise of the place: The best sugar and caramel of the continent. Now, if only he had money for such..
Tags (for all chapters):Pre-canon, Fluff, partners at work, falling in love, actual working, bonding over plants, nonsense fantasy, first kiss, accidentally napping together, stargazing, sharing drinks, typical Willy shenanigans, the fact he can't read is such a problem, sharing chocolate is flirting, author never had an actual job, I took this too seriously again.
Tags (this specific chapter): Bonding over plants, non realistic plants, sharing drinks, dining together, Willy is very good at gifts, ignoring feelings, actively brushing them off, but at the same time acting on them(?), because everyone only lives once, Willy is a little impulsive and contradicting but that's life, he's trying his best, he's just like me fr.
Word Count: 5.2k
a/n: This is Willy Wonka gift giving propaganda, don't mind. This ended up a little longer than expected. Holy fuckkkkk I'm going to bed I'm so tired.
Week 2
Sunday was the only day of the week in which you weren’t supposed to work at all, but that meant absolutely nothing to you.
At the beginning of the second week, it also marked the second Sunday on which Willy worked with you. During this time, he already got an idea on your work patterns and lack of rest, which included also going to work alone when your store was closed for the day. He tried to offer to help you out, but you kept insisting that him working on Sundays went against your contract, which stated he had one full day of rest per week and half a day when the store closed earlier on Saturdays.
So when he woke up a little later that day, he had already expected you to be out and going, but found a lack of evidence that someone had already woken up. Your typical breakfast dishes weren’t in the sink, your jacket still in the hanger, and your shoes by the door. Either you were still in your bed, or you forgot about every single thing and went to the store immediately.
But without your shoes?
Okay, Willy noticed fast that this theory was stupid, and you probably just didn’t wake up with your alarm clock. Yeah, of course, you were probably just sleeping behind this very heavy wooden door, in which he couldn’t actually see if you were alright.
Everything fine.
You didn’t notice, but Willy got so worried at one point that he quietly went over to the door of your room and placed his ear against it, trying to hear any noise or sign that you were still alive. After almost five minutes without moving from his spot and finally hearing the sound of you turning around on the bed, he managed to relax, a sigh of relief escaping him.
Now, knowing that nothing serious had happened, Willy was fairly bored. No work to do that day, no desire to explore town alone, absolutely nothing to do.
Well, there was something he wanted to do today. If not today, someday soon. But it was just the perfect opportunity, seen that you were soundly asleep and probably catching up with several weeks of sleepless nights.
All of a sudden, Willy now had the desire to explore the town.
It was close to lunchtime when you finally woke up. Almost unused to being woken up naturally and not by your alarm, the first reaction you had was of genuine panic for about two seconds, before realizing that it was already Sunday. Even if there was no particular problem in you waking up late once in a while, it still didn’t feel right, as if your day now would have fewer hours and consequently have fewer things done. Not a serious issue, but it was annoying nonetheless.
Seeing the time, you gave up on even considering breakfast, heading straight to a shower and getting ready for the remainder of the day you could have.
Getting out of the room, you contemplated going to the store anyway. Even if you did everything possible the previous day, maybe you could do something to get a head start on Monday’s work. And you had nothing better to do.
Deciding to eat something before heading off, it was then that you finally noticed a lack of the other person who was currently living with you. It wasn’t like Willy didn’t have the free will to do whatever and whenever he wanted on his day off, but he was usually very eager to share his plans with you before heading off, and then giving a whole report about them when he got back. So it was almost strange to see him away and having no idea where.
But again, Willy was a grown young man already, and he would be fine on his own.
Finishing to eat, and still with no sign of Willy showing up, you decided to head out to the store. And it was when you walked to where your boots were placed, that you saw something at your window by the corner of your eye.
You jumped in fear, accidentally letting out a small startled scream loud enough to also scare the person on your window, who just happened to be Willy.
Both of you looked at each other through the glass for a second, as if recognizing the other’s face.
“What the hell are you doing there?” You asked Willy, who apparently didn’t understand you from the other side of the closed window.
“What?” He asked back.
Your home had two doors, one that led directly to the store and one that brought you to the real entrance, where a small garden was located. Since Willy was apparently in your garden, that’s where you went to see him.
“Good morning!” He cheerfully greeted you as soon as you opened the door and joined him there.
“Good morning.” You greeted back, trying to figure out what Willy was doing. His clothes were stained brown by dirt, some gardening supplies thrown at his side, and his body was trying to cover something you couldn't see quite well what it was. “Gardening, I see.”
“Yeah.” He sheepishly answered, a growing grin on his face that he seemed to try to prevent from appearing.
As much as the sight was amusing, you were a little worried about whatever he was doing in your garden. You treasured your plants in there like children, and even the idea of someone even accidentally damaging them was anxiety-driven.
“What you got in there?” Your eyes narrowed slightly at Willy. As much as you didn't want to seem suspicious of him, it was hard right now.
“Well,” he started, “Even if I work for you and such, I find it a little unfair that you give me food and shelter in exchange for nothing. So…” He stepped back, showing what was behind him, a brand new plant perfectly planted on a previously empty spot of grass. “I wanted to give you something too.”
And not just any new plant. No, this was a very, very specific kind of purple-leafed fruit-bearing plant that you’ve been wanting to have since forever. And Willy knew that. Knew that since last week, when you two got out to eat dinner in the city, when both of you passed by the plant nursery in which you had gotten all your plants, and that specific one was right at the front like it was a personal way of seducing you.
“I've been wanting that plant right there for ages.” You had told Willy, who tilted his head at you.
“Doesn't seem that expensive, how come you never got it?” He asked.
You looked at the plant cutting, letting out a small sigh. “I don't have the time to actually plant it. Maybe one day I will.”
You didn't think that Willy would even remember that, let alone do something to change the situation. And now, here he was, covered in dirt and working for who knows how long, just to plant you something you wanted so much and only mentioned once.
“You said you wanted this one, but had no time to plant, so… I did it myself!” He explained, getting progressively nervous by your lack of reaction apart from staring at the plant and at him with wide eyes. “Not myself myself, understand? The old lady at the store gave me some tips on how to do that because I really didn't know how to plant something… maybe that's why it's a little off but I guess it's good for now.”
Willy was rambling now, apologizing if the way he placed the plant seemed off, or if the quantity of water didn't seem enough. At one point, he apologized by saying he did know about chocolate, but not about plants. Apart, of course, from the ones he used to make chocolate.
And all you could do was stare at Willy in awe, as if his mess of an explanation didn't make everything awfully sweeter.
The only moment he stopped talking like a walking disaster was when you properly looked at him and smiled, a small, cheerful giggle coming out of your mouth.
“Willy, you're incredible.” You almost jumped out of joy, quickly getting closer to him and wrapping him in a hug, not caring that the dirt in his clothes would stain yours. “It's perfect, I loved it.”
To say Willy was joyful on seeing you happy was a complete understatement. He was ecstatic, wrapping his arms around you tightly and fighting the urge to spin you around in the air. Willy actually really wanted to do that, but was afraid that it would ruin the moment you two were having.
“I'm so happy you liked it, I was afraid you wouldn't.” He admitted, as you two finally - and reluctantly - pulled away.
“That I wouldn't? How could you ever think that?” You laughed, going closer to your brand new plant and analyzing the purple leaves you dreamed so much of being yours. They were in a perfect state, and Willy did an amazing job at planting it in your garden. It would surely grow well and nicely. “It's absolutely beautiful.”
Still with a bright smile, Willy went closer and admired the plant alongside you. It was certainly a beautiful plant, but it wasn't the most admirable and mesmerizing thing in front of him right now.
“You told me that you wanted the plant, but not why you wanted it.” Willy began to say, because he felt the need to understand why you were so happy, even if just brightening your day seemed enough. “You mentioned that plants were the base of the flavors for the majority of your sugars, right?”
“Exactly.”
“What's so special with this one? It's for sugar too?” he asked, and the way your eyes lightened up was enough for him to give a self high five in his mind. Willy wanted nothing more than to get that expression out of you, of making you speak about something you loved because nothing seemed to make you happier.
For the next full hour, Willy didn't rush you on your explanation of why the specific fruit of that tree, which was small, sugary, and yellow, was so useful when making different mixes of sugar with acidic and spicy components. On how the purple pigment of the leaves was the best way anyone could find to naturally dye other flavors without changing the taste, and how its fruits were also a very good snack.
Even if you didn't consider yourself the loneliest person ever, it was hard for any of your friends or close people to find interest in you talking about plants and sugars for hours to no end, and you didn't blame them, it did seem boring. But it felt so nice to have someone who was not only listening, but understanding everything you were saying, asking questions, and telling their own experiences on encountering some of the plants you spoke about.
The conversation started with the new plant you were gifted, but it ended with you giving a whole tour around your garden and even actively taking care of some of them alongside Willy, showing him how to know the quantity of water they needed, or when and where to cut them.
And for Willy, it was a very good day. You had liked his gift, and now he received one of his own, having you spend time with him and talk to him for hours on end. He couldn't exactly put his finger on what made him so happy about being there, but maybe it was just you being you. It's been so long since he last formed a connection with someone, and it was great having a friend who he liked to talk to, listen to, and admire.
Willy really did like your friendship.
Willy really did like you.
Willy didn't give much mind to the last train of thought he had while with you at the garden until the moment he placed his head on the pillow to sleep that night. After having a snack in the afternoon with you, it was inevitable that you would find a moment to excuse yourself and go to the store and see how things would be for the next day. Willy was almost not bothered by that at all, still on the high of having spent a great time with you.
But night came, you two went over to eat something together on the street - something that was becoming more and more a habit for you two to do together - and came back home late enough for sleep to be calling both of you.
You gave your goodnights, and Willy went to bed. The moment he finally decided to sleep and placed his head on the pillow, it was almost an immediate stimulus for his brain to knock him with that same realization,
He really did like your friendship.
He really did like you.
The shock of actually thinking about that fact for more than a second made him dizzy.
Willy saw good part of the best and worst of you, given the privilege of being living with you for almost two weeks by now.
You were a workaholic, that's for sure, but you were very hardworking and passionate about your craft, which he admired. Willy enjoyed the way you talked when you got excited about something, and also the way you'd be annoyed and grumpy in the morning after another terrible night of sleep.
Willy liked your eyes, your voice, your smile, the way you hummed when cooking lunch, how you explained so cheerfully about your plants, how happy you were every time he sneaked you a freshly done piece of chocolate while working, how good you looked using his coat that day, how mesmerizing it was that you knew and greeted all the vendors around town, your laugh, the way your arms felt around him in that hug, how tired you looked when you came back late from the store, and how you seemed to enjoy his company until the last second before you turned the sign at the door to ‘closed’.
Listing the things on his fingers, Willy quickly noticed how many things there were (12, he counted. For now), and he was a little startled by how serious he was in recalling and reflecting on which one of them. The recalling and reimagining of the coat day alone made him waste around 15 minutes smiling at the ceiling.
It was becoming a problem. Has the contract covered this type of personal relationship? You were skeptical even when you two became friends, so this would absolutely be over the point.
But again, Willy wasn't the type of person to just deny himself happiness like that, and if you brought him happiness, and most importantly, if he could make you happy, then what was the bad in this?
Or maybe he was thinking too seriously about it.
Silly little crushes never killed anyone before. Not that he heard about. Plus, it was probably the whole “It's been so long since he last formed a connection with someone” situation more than anything.
Thinking about this too much was making his head hurt, but he still couldn't sleep.
It seemed that Willy would have another sleepless night experimenting with chocolate. Maybe tonight he would work with oat milk, he still had some.
Monday came right after, then Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday the next day. In a single blink, it was already Friday again. Time was flying by too fast, and Willy was starting to be worried about the end of his contract and when he would be able to take hold of that marvelous pile of sugar he was promised.
On one side, Willy was really excited about finally ending his agreement and getting back to sailing across the seas. Every night, he thought about another place to go, another idea, and where to execute it, and he could barely wait to go away. But at the same time, Willy was becoming more and more reluctant about the fact that he had to leave behind completely the small habit that he had built in the place. Most of all, about leaving you behind.
He could use a friend on the high seas, maybe you could come with him. Willy was sure you’d love Gallery Gourmet and everything the place had to offer.
Apart from the frequent thoughts about his dream, his job, your job, and you, the days were much the same, but that wasn’t a problem. Repetitive at times, for sure, but seeing new people coming by every day, talking to you back at home, and getting to learn more about caramel to include on his chocolates, Willy was completely satisfied with how his life was going.
Every morning, from the window while he was eating breakfast, Willy managed to have a glimpse of you in your garden, watering your plants like you did every time before heading to work. When he saw a flash of you smiling at something on the ground, Willy liked to know it was at the plant he had given you, the one you said would be good at the end of the month to pluck out some leaves and test the pigments. Willy said he would make sure to be around still to see the first tests, but was saddened by the fact that he would go away before the fruits would ripe.
Well, Friday was it again, and the day at work was much more of the same, to no one’s surprise. If Willy had to call out something particularly different, it would be that you spent almost two hours walking around showing the store to a man, giving him small samples of sugar and caramel while talking about each one. By now, he could tell the small signs you had when nervous, of how your hand surreptitiously tapped against your thigh while you talked, how your breathing was shallower.
The sun was already beginning to set when he saw from a distance you shaking hands with said man, before he finally went away, and you started to punch the air in happiness.
Not able to keep his curiosity to himself for more than three seconds, Willy quickly dropped whatever else he was supposed to be doing and went over to ask what had happened.
“Someone is happy. May I know why?” He questioned, as you still seemed to be coming out of your high of bliss.
“Guess who just stole their competitor’s biggest client and sold the biggest quantity in their store's history?” You answered, so joyful Willy could see stars radiating off you.
“Biggest quantity?” He was amused, because he had already seen people getting away with unimaginable quantities of packages during the last weeks. “More than I came to buy?”
“Probably like, five times that.”
Now that was shocking. “... Holy shit.” He laughed, patting your shoulder and lightly shaking you. “That’s amazing! That’s actually incredible! You’re fantastic.”
Your face turned a deeper shade of red with each compliment that Willy gave you, and that, alongside the euphoria you felt, made you feel like burning.
Different from the day of the gift, it was Willy who pulled you into a hug, again having to resist the urge to spin you around even once. Gosh, he really wanted to do that. But the sensation of you hugging him back tightly while giggling was enough for him, at least for now.
“Stop that.” You tried to brush off the praise when you two pulled away, but Willy didn’t buy it.
“Absolutely not, and that deserves a celebration.” He began, and the words started spilling out of his mouth before he had actual control of them. “I’ll take you to dinner tonight, how about it?”
You nodded at the offer, as it wasn’t something unfamiliar to you anymore, it would probably be the fifth time you two went about grabbing something instead of cooking at night. “Of course.” You agreed. “Where do you wanna go? Last time we got a very good-”
“Oh, no, no, no.” Willy interrupted you, which made your expression freeze and drop for a second, replaced by a confused one. “A proper dinner, a celebration one. You and me, both of us. What do you think?”
Now that was a surprise. But really, how could you refuse?
“Seems a good idea. I would love it.” You said, that excited bright smile returning to your face, and Willy felt his heart stutter for a moment.
“Amazing!” He exclaimed, a little too loudly. “Amazing, yeah, how about we go around… 8? the store closes at 7 today.”
“Fine with me.”
“Fine with me!” Willy gave himself a mental high five again. He was deserving of a lot of those these days.
It was clear to say that Willy wasn’t even slightly productive in the last hour of work of the day, because all he spent his time thinking about was how it would be a perfect moment to spend time with you, talk with you, and maybe hold your hand, because the idea was awfully nice to think about.
The exact second you officially closed the store for the day, Willy dashed out back to his room in order to get ready for your dinner together.
He tried not to think too hard about how it could be, afraid to jinx it. The first thing he obviously didn’t think about is what you’d be wearing to go out. It wasn’t like you didn’t groom yourself every morning and look beautiful at work, but ‘working clothes’ and ‘dinner clothes’ surely had to have different meanings for you. The weather wasn’t all that aggressive that day, as it seemed, with the sky clear and sunny the whole time, it was expected to be a warm and cloudless night, which was absolutely perfect. Again, not like he was thinking too much about it.
Willy was trying so hard not to think about it, but he was liking it so much to think about it. Where you two would choose to eat, what you’d eat, what he’d eat, what he would say, what you two would talk about… A particular image of you, allowing his hand to rest above yours, made him particularly red, as he had to sit down on his bed for a second and hide his reddened face into his palms for about five whole minutes.
Before Willy realized, he was ready and sat on the couch waiting for you to come out of your room. His feet tapping nervously against the floor, ears listening to every smallest sound, with the chance that it could be your door opening.
He was so focused on being alert that your door had to open on the exact minute he spaced off, looking at the floor. Willy jumped from the couch before you could see him, adjusting his shirt to seem more collected than he felt like.
And when his eyes rested upon you, his face opened a smile. Willy could feel his own pupils dilate in real time, and everything that passed by his mind was gorgeous, lovely, ravishing.
You did notice his apparent lack of focus, but it didn’t seem like a bad thing in that situation. Willy was, in a certain way, staring a little too much, but it didn’t make you uncomfortable. If anything, you just felt admired. “Shall we get going?”
“You’re beautiful.” He breathed out, realizing one second later that you didn’t ask him how you were, he just expected you would. Cleaning his throat quickly, Willy tried to laugh it off. “Sorry, sorry, it was a little impulsive. Not like a lie, you are beautiful, but that’s not what I meant and…” He just sighed. “Yes, please, let’s go.”
It was endearing to see how Willy would ramble when he got flustered and tried so hard to explain himself. Your desire was to push on a little more, but felt as if this would just make him feel even more awkward, so you just walked with him to the door, hand lightly holding his shoulder as a reassurance.
The destination you both chose for that night wasn’t that far away, with fifteen minutes of walking being enough to spark conversation between you two. To Willy, talking felt easy with you, even in the areas where you were different from him, on hobbies, knowledge, and experience in life. He felt as if he would never get tired of knowing more about you, to know every quality and flaw, every memory you were willing to share, every piece of information about your interests that you were dying to tell someone about. He could be that someone. He wanted to.
In general, this dinner wasn’t so different from the other times you two went out to dinner together, even if it was mostly a light snack and not a proper meal. And honestly, Willy was glad for that. Because he didn’t want things to particularly change from the core dynamic you both had. He wanted to be your friend, wanted to talk with you about anything and everything while sharing a glass of what was the best wine he had ever drunk in his life. And now that you both finished eating your meal, it was the wine you two sat back to appreciate properly.
“I had my share of wine, but I never had one like this.” He commented, taking another sip of his own glass.
“This one…” You spoke, looking over at the bottle the waiter had left at the table. “Oh, it’s from here. There’s a vineyard in town, did you know? Right on top of the hill, terrible to get to, but they do make divine wine.”
Willy laughed. “This town doesn’t get tired of amazing me.”
You smiled as if the compliment was given directly to you, because considering how much you did love your hometown, it might as well have been.
It was for only a fraction of a moment where Willy moved enough that you could see something strangely blue stick out of his reddish coat, enough for it to pique your interest. “What you got in there?” You asked, feeling a very familiar sensation saying that.
Willy widened his eyes for a second as if he had been caught. “Is it bad I brought something here with me?” He asked, but didn’t sound guilty at all. As if your answer was ‘yes’ he would just giggle and show it to you anyway.
“Such as…?”
A mischievous grin formed on Willy’s face as he took out a small transparent box tied with a beautiful blue ribbon from his coat, revealing he had with himself two delicious-looking chocolate eclairs with him. And not from just any chocolate, no, it was the exact chocolate he had noticed you loved the most, based on the small pieces he would give you during work. Every single one of them was different for the past few days, and even if his small experiment started with him wanting to have a test of his chocolate, it eventually turned into a quiz of what chocolate was your favorite?
And based on the one you reacted best to, he formulated what he considered the ultimate favorite of yours.
Looking at the two pastries, you could only let out a heartfelt laugh, which made you wonder for a second if your relaxation had something to do with the glass you just had. “You made eclairs?”
“With your favorite chocolate.” He admitted, under no pressure. “I made this for you.”
“When did you even have time to even do that?” You questioned, genuinely curious for the answer, but Willy just shrugged and lightly pushed the box towards you.
“I’m something of a magician myself.”
Playfully rolling your eyes, you couldn’t not open the box and take one of the eclairs to take a bite, the flavor of the exact type of chocolate you absolutely adored feeling your senses.
“Oh, gosh.” You almost teared up at the taste. It was phenomenal. Even if that was your opinion for everything that Willy came up with, this was different. Everything, from the texture, to the sensation, to the taste, and the aroma, and the fact that he had made it thinking about you, everything was perfect. And you had no idea how you could continue living knowing you wouldn’t be able to eat this every single day of your life. “That’s the best thing you ever made, I’m sure.”
Willy smiled, flustered. “Oh, I’m flattered.”
“Take a bite.” You brought the other half of the eclair close to his mouth, expectant that he’d accept it from your hand.
After one second of eyes widening when the pastry was suddenly in front of him, there was no way Willy would refuse such an offer. Not only to eat a delicious dessert, but also to be given it this way. He was delighted. Taking a bite, he instinctively cleaned a little of the filling from his own mouth with his thumb, savoring it. He was really damn good at his job.
But even better than eating his own delicious food, was appreciating the view of you eating something he poured his whole heart into. The pleased expression on his face, how much you seemed to enjoy it, how he knew that you knew this was made specially for you. His desire was to, when he finally opened his own store, sell this particular eclair and give the pastry your name. He might actually do it.
Soon enough, both eclairs were long gone, shared between both of you. Willy mostly ate because you kept offering him bites, because what he most wanted to do was to see you happy with another gift of his.
For a long while after you two weren’t eating anymore, the night boiled down to both of you still talking while sharing yet another glass of wine. All the anxiety and worry that Willy was feeling back in his room were fully gone now that he had you in front of him, the conversation flowing as naturally as possible.
Despite his small ingestion of alcohol, Willy knew that it was a totally sober thought and action when he glanced at your hand resting on the table and placed his own right beside it. For seven whole minutes, he slowly brought his hand closer to yours, pinky finger brushing against the back of yours. Both continued talking as if none of this was happening, as if it were usual and banal to even think that it wasn't natural between you both.
It was such a stupid thought, but Willy couldn’t prevent himself from thinking this was exactly how he imagined his night to end. That everything he wanted since the moment he asked you out to dinner with him was this, you two talking while his hand was on top of yours, his thumb tracing your knuckles.
His mind couldn’t focus on anything apart from the sound of your voice and how your skin felt against his, but one occasional thought popped up more than he would like to admit.
‘Was almost two whole weeks enough to admit you fell for someone without it sounding foolish?’
Synopsis: During his years of life in the ocean in the search for the finest products to work on his chocolate, Willy found himself with his boat docked upon another island where he had never been before. The promise of the place: The best sugar and caramel of the continent. Now, if only he had money for such..
Tags (for all chapters): Pre-canon, Fluff, partners at work, falling in love, actual working, bonding over plants, nonsense fantasy, first kiss, accidentally napping together, stargazing, sharing drinks, typical Willy shenanigans, the fact he can't read is such a problem, sharing chocolate is flirting, author never had an actual job, I took this too seriously again.
Tags (this specific chapter): Fluff, silly, working together, friendship, going out, cold weather, reader is a little workaholic, Willy tries to make them rest for 5 minutes without exploding, obliviousness on probably both sides.
Word Count: 3.2k
a/n: Really thought I would take less time to write. oh well. I would say the next chapter comes out this week but I think I'd be lying.
Week 1
It was embarrassing how tired Willy was when morning came. He told himself that he would sleep early to be well rested in order to help you first thing, but he was carried away with his portable factory and was up until 2 in the morning working with caramelized almonds. By the time his alarm clock went off, he was terribly tired and wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.
And he almost did so, if the mental image of you in his head, so happy and smiling while he helped you around the previous afternoon, didn’t shake him off the bed with a groan. It was for a good cause, apparently, he certainly didn’t want to disappoint you.
Stumbling on his feet, Willy spent some minutes getting ready before eventually getting out of his temporary room and heading to the kitchen, where he could smell toast and freshly made coffee.
“Good morning, Willy.” You greeted him, pouring yourself your second cup of coffee. On the table you sat by there were two plates, one with two recently made pieces of toast and yours, which was already empty, and two mugs, one you were using and another one you had chosen to be Willy’s. You didn’t know if he even enjoyed coffee, but you could always offer some milk or even water. “Slept well?”
The man greeted you with a yawn and a small smile as he sat at the chair opposite from you at the table. “Good morning. Night was great.” He lied, seeing no reason to expose himself with his late night activities of chocolate making. Apart from that, the bed was pretty warm, and he had four very comfortable hours of sleep. “Thank you again for everything. This looks really tasty.” He motioned to the toast on his plate.
“It’s no problem, really.” You acknowledged. “Want some coffee?”
Even if he didn’t consider himself a frequent coffee drinker, Willy supposed it would be good to drink at least a cup if that meant some help in staying awake the whole day. “Yes, please.”
Nodding, you poured some coffee for him, which he quietly thanked before drinking a little. He made a sour expression, which made you giggle before passing the sugar bowl to him.
“You never told me what you were planning to do with all that sugar.” You recalled, drinking a little from your own mug as you observed Willy place an enormous amount of sugar in his coffee. “I was going to ask yesterday, but it was far too late to remember.”
At the simple question, you could clearly see how Willy’s eyes widened slightly, an excited smile on his face. He barely even seemed tired anymore.
“I’m so glad you asked, because I have something that will not only answer your question, but make your coffee experience a hundred times better.” He exclaimed, completely ecstatic as he stood up and turned around on his heels, running back to his room. For about thirty seconds after he just dashed away without any explanation, you were left standing in your kitchen waiting for him.
It was when you were about to call his name and ask if everything was alright that you heard steps coming back from the hallway.
“The lack of sugar in my stock actually had its benefits in the end. For the last few days I’ve been perfecting the recipe of my semi-sweet chocolate that, as far as I tested until now, goes perfectly well with coffee such as yours.” Wonka explained incredibly fast and almost in one single breath, before calming down for a second and extending his palm to show some pieces of chocolate. “For you.”
Judging that it wasn’t possible that someone like him could possibly poison you in your own home, you accepted the chocolate and took one of them from Willy’s hand, hesitating just for a second before taking a bite.
He looked at you with exceeding expectation, a smile on his face that was both charming and ever so slightly frightening. “So, what do you think?”
And it was good. Gosh, it was probably the best thing you ever tasted in your whole life.
“What do I think? It’s absolutely amazing.” You almost laughed, delighted by the taste of it. Without thinking twice, you reached for another piece. “So that's it? You make chocolate?”
“The best chocolate in the world, you see.” He began explaining, sounding a little like an overexcited child. Well, you weren’t going to be the one to kill his happiness. “It’s been around 5 years now that I travel searching for ingredients to make them. That’s why I’m here, that’s why I need your sugar.”
Seemed like a good reason. If Willy could make delicious treats even with a sugar shortage, who knew what he could make with any ingredient he desired?
“If I knew about that before, maybe I would have traded all the sugar you wanted for some jars of your chocolate.” You joked, but Wonka seemed to consider this for a second.
“Want to change the contract?"
“Absolutely not, I need help in the store.” You answered, grabbing another piece of chocolate from his still extended palm. “Life’s been hell in there, and you’re the angel that just fell from the sky and into my arms.”
“Oh.” Willy tilted his head a little at the… compliment? He didn’t know exactly how to feel about being called that, but the sensation wasn’t at all bad. “Thank you.”
Not noticing his semi-flustered state and how his face was ever so slightly red, you finished your cup of coffee and placed it on the sink. “It’s past 7 already, I’ll start organizing things to open. Don’t need to rush, but think you can be there at 8?”
Willy nodded. “Absolutely, I’ll be there in a moment. Mind if I pass by the pier and grab my stuff on the boat?”
“Not at all, take your time.” You smiled at him, grabbed your own jacket from the hanger, and passed by him on your way, lightly tapping his shoulder. “Thank you, Willy. See you soon” You spoke, heading to the door and quickly going away.
A little surprised, but not unhappy, with the touch, Willy froze for a second while looking at the closed door and the spot on his coat you had touched.
Maybe it was the coffee, but he really didn’t feel sleepy anymore.
Work was much the same, mostly. It wasn’t like Willy expected something incredibly cool and exciting to happen while he had to move boxes and help people find a specific flavour or sugar, but he didn’t know that working would be so boring.
From Monday until Saturday, everything happened without much trouble. A little difficulty on the task of finding stuff when he wasn’t oriented by color but rather name, but asking people to write it down and then matching the drawing of the letters did the trick.
Working and living temporarily was great, too, of course. Willy woke up to breakfast ready and was allowed to eat whatever the fridge had for lunch, and in exchange, he agreed to wash the dishes and clean the floors. The only part he needed to do completely by himself was dinner, which he would eat at a street merchant by the town and end up knowing more of the place.
About you, however, there was one thing Willy learned about you during the first week he was working in your shop, and it was that you didn’t catch a single break. Not in the fun ‘dedicated to your job’ type, but the one where you didn’t come back home until 2 in the morning Tuesday because you were single-handedly organizing your stock just to fall asleep and wake up again at 6. It was insane, and Willy could say that, seeing he was also so obsessed with his own art of making chocolate that he neglected essential aspects of his life. All you did was work, work, work.
There were some usual excuses you’d give him. Short-staffed, to get a head start on tomorrow's work, one last thing you needed to do. Other responses to questions varied based on your humor. Even if you were never aggressive when talking to him, Willy did notice your answers became more short-tempered during the morning and when the sun was already setting.
He was just worried at this point. How couldn’t he?
“Oh, hey, you can take a lunch break already.” You said, looking over at the clock on the wall to see it was already past midday. “There’s some leftovers in the fridge.”
“When are you taking a break?” Willy shortly asked, his voice almost serious for once.
Due to his tone, you actually placed your things down at the counter beside you and looked at him directly. “What?”
“I've been working here for six days already, and I haven’t seen you take a single break for even five minutes.” There was clear worry in his voice, one that you weren’t exactly used to hearing anymore. “It's insane! You go the whole day from sunrise to sunset without stopping.”
It caught you off guard, the words for your usual answers of “I’m fine”, “don’t worry”, and “what are you? My mom?” did not seem to come out of your mouth, even if you tried to force any sound at all. Why was he even worried about that? It wasn’t like this was any of his business or interests, the contract stated that everything was professional, and personal worries certainly didn’t make the cut.
You took a deep breath and reached for the clipboard you left on the counter, unconsciously adjusting your posture to seem a little more collected. Didn’t work much.
“Well, I can’t right now. I have to finish collecting this order-” You started to justify yourself, when Willy took the clipboard from your hands. “Hey! What’s with that?”
“I finish collecting the order, you take fifteen minutes to eat. Deal?”
It wasn’t a deal. Who did this guy think he was? With his charming personality and bright eyes, it didn’t mean he could just dictate what you did and when you did.
Although a small break would be really good right now, you could really use the leftovers from dinner in your fridge.
Against your own wishes, you considered the idea for a moment. You felt tired, barely had time to sleep last night, stomach curling up from hunger due to your lack of lunch and proper breakfast, and everything shouted at you to accept the offer. But this order was important, you couldn’t mess it up for the life of you, and even if Willy seemed to be a competent guy for the past few days, it was hard to give up something that was supposed to be your job.
You sighed tiredly, having to look up at the man who still had a hopeful smile on his face. “I’m sorry, Willy, I really need to finish this up. Go eat lunch, okay?” You unconsciously brushed him off, extending your hand for him to give your clipboard back.
Willy’s smile withered when he saw that his convincing didn’t work. He believed that he had good intentions, but didn’t question your own decisions even if he certainly didn’t agree with them. “Yeah, okay. I’m sorry.” He spoke back, trying to force his smile back up as he handed you the clipboard back. You immediately took hold of it and continued writing down, as if the whole conversation hadn’t happened before.
Feeling a little lost, Willy quietly stepped back and left you to work. Part of him believed that he had lost his appetite, but the immediate sound coming from his stomach made him realize he still needed to eat for himself. Going back into your home and into your kitchen, Wonka felt a little bored having to eat alone, even if the leftover pasta tasted great. For the whole week he spent there, not once did he actually manage to sit down and share a meal with you, and this bothered him for some reason.
He would sit down for breakfast, and you’d be already out to work. Lunch time would arrive, and you were still working. Dinner came, and neither of you shared that meal.
Willy had to buy his own food tonight anyway, so he’ll just ask you to eat with him on the street. Getting physically away from work for a second might be good for you. Now that he thought about it, maybe living right behind your store might be the problem, even if he considered it a very good idea for his future. Having his store and home attached to one another. Yeah… good idea.
He came back from work that day a little earlier than you. The idea was to be with you when you finished everything and turned the sign at the door to closed, but after that, you still insisted upon doing some more work and organization on the next day’s deliveries.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take all that long this time, at least in comparison to the last few days that you came back after he had already arrived from town, where he went to eat dinner. Almost
“Hello, Willy, sorry I took so long.” You greeted, entering your home and placing your coat on the hanger.
“No problem at all.” He yawned, with a quantity of happiness on his face that made you slightly suspicious. Willy quickly stood up from the couch, walking over to you. “I was wondering if you’d have dinner with me in town today?”
The offer was a surprise, you couldn’t lie. By your contract, dinner was the only meal Willy had to fetch for himself downtown or wherever else outside your home, so why not go out with you a little?
“You want to have dinner together?” You asked, trying not to make anything of a misunderstanding. Willy was prone to saying… eccentric things at times.
“It’s not a dinner dinner.” He clarified. “Normally when I go to town I grab something from a seller passing by. This place has some pretty good street food.”
Considering that your idea of dinner included nothing very appetizing, the thought of not having to cook anything was pretty tempting, given how tired you were. In addition, some fresh air couldn’t kill anyone.
“Seems like a good idea.” You accepted, and it was visible for a single second how surprised Willy was by that. He seemed ecstatic.
“Amazing! Grab your jacket again, how about we go now? I could really use some food.” He lit up, dragging you by the arm towards the door fast enough that you could only barely grab your jacket before you two were already outside.
The small moment while sharing food from street vendors was probably the time you two most spent talking with each other. It began with things related to work, Willy sharing his experience with traveling and meeting people, how he experimented with different flavors to make his chocolate, and how he came up with that, while you spoke about your own life and how your store started, how you even got the idea of specializing yourself on sugar, and the process of creating all the types you sell.
After that, every possible topic came up. From family, to dreams and hopes for the future, other interests and hobbies that you two shared. Maybe it was the charisma that seemed to come so naturally from Willy, but talking with him felt engaging in a way you hadn’t felt with someone in a long time.
You could say that it was the most pleasant night that you had in forever. The sensation that this weird agreement ended up resulting in a friend made you strangely happy.
In the small town you lived in, it wasn’t unusual for the weather to be completely batshit crazy. There were still comments around about that one week about a year ago, where it was burning hot during the morning, only for the temperature to drop to negative when night came. Sometimes it was the opposite. It was hard to call unnatural when it did happen. Sometimes your wish was to move to another place, but leaving everything behind was too much for now.
And today, it seemed, nature decided it would be another cold night. The comfort of your home and shop gave the illusion that everything was warm and cozy. It certainly wasn’t, and with the sun setting in the sky, things just got colder, and the wind got sharper.
The shivers that crept down your arm didn’t go unnoticed by Willy. For a man who seemed to notice absolutely nothing, he did notice a lot of things. Whatever it is supposed to mean. “Cold?” He asked, his eyes glancing at the thin layer of cloth that your jacket offered. You hadn’t expected for the weather to change so quickly, and the decision to use lighter clothing surely wasn’t the best one you've ever had.
“Freezing. And using this thing?” you motioned to the thin jacket you were wearing. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up sick.” You said to him, the idea of getting a cold was terrible, especially if it meant you couldn’t go to work. There was no way that place would survive without you for even two days.
Thinking about it for less than two single seconds, Willy took off his coat and dropped it over your shoulders, lightly adjusting the collar around your neck. “There you go.”
Warmth enveloped you, and it felt delightful. It wasn’t a surprise that Willy hadn’t complained of cold even once since you two stepped outside, because his coat did feel pleasantly warm. The first reaction that your body had was to finally relax your shoulders, a satisfied sigh escaping you. Although, three seconds later, you recovered your senses and began shrugging the coat off your shoulders. “It’s fine, really, we’re already going back. I’m not letting you freeze because of me.”
Willy simply grabbed the coat off your shoulder so he could place it over you again. “Is it too hard for you to accept something that will help you feel better?” he asked, not really expecting an answer, but the way he spoke was enough to make your next sharp remark die on the back of your throat.
You let Willy adjust the coat over your shoulders again, for once not agonizing and trying to escape the small comfort it gave. Instead, you closed it across your chest, finally feeling like your heart wouldn’t stop due to frostbite.
Even if you were restraining yourself from directly looking at Willy, you still managed to see him grinning triumphantly from the corner of your eyes. “Thank you.” You almost whispered, but it was loud enough for him to hear and become visibly pleased by the acknowledgment.
“No problem.” He answered, his hand lightly resting on the top part of your back between your shoulder blades. Willy didn’t regret giving you his coat, he was actually really happy to do so. Still, he was freezing without it, and he was shamelessly using the heat close to the nape of your neck to defrost his hands and walking ever so close to see if he could warm himself up better. He hoped you wouldn’t mind.
I'm making ANOTHER post about the Good Omens finale because I'm so passionate about this, but STOP COMPLAINING about them not kissing. They could not have possibly shown more signs of deep, unbreakable love. They got married, grew old together in a world that THEY MADE BETTER mind you. I'm just so happy that they got to experience what they sacrificed everything for. AND they'll get to do it over and over again in EVERY UNIVERSE. Omg no one has ever loved someone this much, so what if they didn't kiss. There are so many other symbols of devotion and they showed each other them ALL.
Can't lie, I was actually happy with the ending. Not as good as a whole season would be, but I was feeling very jolly with sunshine, rainbows and lollipops at their dinner together
I mean they are married and looking at the stars, and I wished for nothing else
Anyway all I know is Good Omens ended with a nightingale singing in Berkeley Square, two immortal supernatural beings dining at the Ritz together, and a toast "to the world." They chose humanity AND they chose each other.
Works with gendered reader are marked; anything that doesn't have a specification is Gender Neutral.
The titles without a link are currently being written! They're coming out eventually. I just have the habit of writing 30 things at once lol
✩ - Fluff
⚠︎ - Angst/Heavy topics
ᝰ - Silly stuff
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁༉‧₊˚. ☆ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅
Steven Grant X Reader
╰┈➤ˎˊ˗ Moon Knight (Marvel)
｡𖦹°꩜. Cookies taste better on a rainy day ✩
‧₊˚✩彡 Sometimes, your first date is the fourth one ✩
Synopsis: During his years of life in the ocean in the search for the finest products to work on his chocolate, Willy found himself with his boat docked upon another island where he had never been before. The promise of the place: The best sugar and caramel of the continent. Now, if only he had money for such..
Tags (for all chapters): Pre-canon, Fluff, partners at work, falling in love, actual working, bonding over plants, nonsense fantasy, first kiss, accidentally napping together, stargazing, sharing drinks, typical Willy shenanigans, the fact he can't read is such a problem, sharing chocolate is flirting, author never had an actual job, I took this too seriously again.
Tags (this specific chapter): Fluff, silly, nonsense fantasy, working, stress because of said work, becoming partners, Willy not reading is still a problem, contracts that weren't read, Willy is too trusting.
Word Count: 4k
a/n: Just remembered I know how to write. So, I got a little carried away by this, it was supposed to be around 3k words total but it clearly isn't. Suppose it will be around 4 or 5 parts? I sure hope that's it.
During his long years of exploration through the seas, Willy was sure there was nothing he hadn’t done or seen before. In the search for the best condiments and ingredients for the production of the finest chocolate the whole world had ever seen, he encountered numerous different personalities and troubles that he learned to deal with.
Among the several exotic spices he collected and tasted, Willy learned which of them needed to be restocked more quickly than others. Although sometimes he forgot that the stuff he bought in larger quantities also happened to finish sooner or later.
Sugar, such a simple thing. He didn’t expect it to finish so quickly, since the last time he got a refill was some months ago. Unfortunately, his last supplier mysteriously disappeared after he was involved in debt with a bunch of pirates and a ridiculously large deposit of rum he needed to deliver. Willy hoped he was all right.
Well, for that reason, he needed a new place to get his sugar from, and it surely had to be fast if he didn’t just want to make the bitterest types of sweets for the next few weeks. Fortunately, one of the members of his crew was familiar with a place not far from where they currently were. Said the place had a wide variety of syrups and different types of sugar that the young man would love to see.
Excited about the idea, Willy didn’t hesitate to announce that they would be going off once again towards the location of his possible new supplier of the material.
After less than two days sailing, land could be seen on the horizon. And before they could even properly stop at the pier, the man was already grabbing his coat and hat, rushing out of his cabin to look at the place from afar.
“Want us to come with you, chef?” Upon finishing tying his boots, Willy heard one of the members of his crew asking him. It was kind of their part, especially considering they already helped him in quite a few moments of need. He was sure he would still be stuck in those vines back at that rainforest if none of them came to cut him free.
“I believe there’s no need.” He concluded after considering the idea for a second. “How much trouble can a little sugar cause me?” Smiling, he finished picking up his stuff and headed out of the boat and into the coastal city.
Even with his clear objective at hand, Willy allowed himself to wander around a little around the place, having to hold himself back from buying anything from the passing sellers, at risk of having nothing left to buy what he came for.
Finally, after some minutes of getting lost due to a wrong turn, the chocolatier found himself at the front of the shop. A medium-sized one when looking outside, but that seemed far bigger when he stepped foot inside. And by the skies, if the place wasn’t a dream come true.
Even if he had travelled the whole world for the past half-decade, Willy was sure this had become one of his favorite places of all. With shelves and more shelves of different-colored packages of sugar, in all flavors and sizes one could imagine. From a reddish package with a spice tolerance warning to a fluorescent yellow one that promised to taste electric. For lack of a better term, Wonka sure felt like a kid in a candy store.
He might have just gone a little overboard on his happiness.
Grabbing a basket, the man walked through every and all shelves seven times over, looking at everything that caught his eye, and picking more packages than he could carry alone. Apart from the seven giant packages of white sugar and the five of brown sugar, the twenty boxes he got were also full of the most different flavors he found interesting.
It couldn’t even pass Willy’s mind how someone wouldn’t enjoy eating a bar of chocolate made of sugary… Was this sand?
Well, there must be someone who likes it, he thought, throwing the package alongside the other ones and heading over to the next aisle.
The sugar store you had since you were young was your pride and joy. Being the single creator of more than 90% of the flavors and types that were exclusive to your shop, it had been the point of attraction to several different chocolatiers, bakers, or anyone who would just indulge in their own hobbies now and then.
And as much as you adore spending your time working there, the days have been hell for the past few weeks. Too many people who wanted to buy, and few workers to deal with everyone. At this point, it would be of much help if you could multiply yourself into seven different people, just to cover half the things no one had time to do.
Today was no different. At least, it didn’t begin as different. Having to revise what needed to be restocked for the week, you lost your lunch hour wandering around the shelves close to the back, counting again and again how many packages of brown sugar were still left after someone bought almost a ton the previous day. You were so tired, not even managing to keep count of your own job.
At least it was a rather calm day.
Someone tapped your shoulder. “Hi? Hello, could you help me, please?”
You turned around, facing a young man who seemed to be not much older than you. He seemed friendly, smiled a lot, used a top hat, and smelled like the sea. “Of course. What would it be?” You accepted to help, even if the idea of having to do yet another thing made you dizzy.
“I would like those hot pink colored packages up there, but can’t seem to reach them.” The way Willy spoke, it seemed as if he was just lacking a few centimeters of height, but as he pointed to what he wanted, you saw that it was a very specific package, almost 10 meters up, bordering the ceiling of the place.
Holding yourself from letting out a large sigh and screaming onto your palms, you tried to offer a polite smile at the man. “I’ll have someone get up there for you.” You turned away to call someone with a ladder, as you wanted nothing more than to step out of the place and head over to your room in the back.
“Thank you so much!” Willy exclaimed back, a little lost on his own mission to read the room.
No one was available. Amazing. Fantastic. After some moments, you were the one to come back with a ridiculously large folded ladder, placing it on the shelf with the product the man wanted. And Willy, who was still waiting there, and who also expected someone else to solve his problem, was a little startled when he saw you start to casually climb something so high up.
“Whoa, whoa, are you really climbing all the way up there?” He asked, reaching over to hold your arm to prevent you from going up so high that you could personally bring down a cloud. “Isn’t it a little dangerous?”
Him being startled made you startled, especially when he gently held your arm. “Well, it’s my job. And besides, no one else seemed available to assist you, so I’ll do it myself.”
This didn’t seem to convince Willy much, who didn’t let go of you until you lightly pulled back. “I have no problem reaching there myself. There’s a ladder here already, after all.”
You raised your eyebrows at him before ignoring the worried comments completely and beginning to climb up the shelves. Willy gave a small gasp, immediately going to hold the base of the ladder as if he was afraid it could slip, and that you’d fall, and everything would go wrong, and it would be his fault.
Effortlessly reaching the specific packages the man wanted, you looked down to ask him how many he would want. It was an easy communication, seeing that his eyes didn’t leave you for a single second.
“Maybe three?” He shouted from the floor, a little concerned about what you’d do to get down on your own if he were to say a bigger number.
You just gave him a thumbs up, reaching for the first package, and looking down again at Wonka. “Catch.” You warned before letting the sugar bag fall right on top of him.
Willy managed to get it, placing it down right before you threw the second and third one. All that while he still tried to keep one hand holding the ladder, which was lightly shaking every time you moved too much. It was stressing him out.
“More?” You asked him.
“No!” He exclaimed, a little too loudly. Cleaning his throat, he composed himself. “No, No, that’s more than enough. Thank you so much.”
You nodded, starting to climb back down to the floor. Willy felt his heartbeat calming down at every second you were closer to the ground again, almost having to hide a sigh of relief when you stepped out of the ladder completely.
“Would you need anything more?” You questioned.
Finally, feeling his blood pressure go back to normal, Willy just shook his head. “I believe not. In fact, I should go already. Before I buy the whole store.”
As your act of kindness throughout the stress of the day, and seeing how occupied the cashiers already were, you thought it was better for you to sum up the money and get the payment. “I can get the price for you.”
“That would be perfect!” He cheered, following you as you began to walk away.
Because of the ridiculous amount that he was buying, you managed to find some of your employees to help carry his boxes to the counter, as well as organizing them so that counting and summing the price wouldn’t be as torturous as it could have been.
While two men placed the boxes down, you started to note everything that was in them. Knowing the majority of prices by heart, you ended up being much more efficient at doing so than the others who took care of the cash.
Willy, who was quietly observing you write down everything, couldn’t help but engage in some conversation. “What’s your name?”
Your eyes raised from the paper. Even if a little skeptical, you gave Willy your name, looking up properly at him. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. Curiosity.” The man smiled, tilting his head. “My name is Willy Wonka.” He spoke, lightly tilting his top hat in a manner that brought a small grin to your face.
“It’s a pleasure, Willy Wonka.” You spoke as if both of you were talking to each other for the first time that day.
“Just Willy is good. And it’s my pleasure to meet you.” He said. “Business seems to be doing very well.”
The reminder of the state of your packet store brought the usual desire to lower your head and bang it against the counter. It was a normal feeling for you that week. “And I’m so happy about that. It’s just that I wasn’t really expecting so much movement, I don’t have enough staff for such.”
He gave you a sympathetic look, but didn’t know what else to offer of help.
Willy remained quiet as he continued to watch you manually sum up the prices, a small glint in his eyes as he saw the smallest of expressions on you upon seeing how it seemed to never end.
Not knowing where he was going next, and even more, having no idea when he would be able to get another level of supplies, Willy opted for the great idea of taking a ridiculously large amount at once. It wasn’t all that great, he could see it now.
“1370 sovereigns total.” You looked up from your paper.
Wonka’s smile didn’t flatter, not because he had some plan or he expected the result, but because he froze in his spot after hearing the price.
“Oh.” He muttered under his breath, after more time than he should.
“What’s the matter?”
It felt a little awkward for him. For a moment, Willy tried to reflect exactly how it didn’t pass his mind that maybe, just maybe, buying a colossal quantity of sugar would go a little over his current budget of… 30 silver coins. “You see, that’s a little more than I expected it to be.”
This reaction wasn’t at all unfamiliar to you. How many times has someone entered to buy anything more expensive at the store and had to leave everything behind because they were surprised when the paycheck came bordering the thousands? Not their fault for being too excited, but also not your fault for the man wanting to buy almost a ton of sugar. What was that even for?
“You can’t pay.” You simply answered.
“Well…” He tried to find some sort of excuse, but his brain thought of nothing. “No, I can’t.”
Hearing the answer, the men who were helping Willy to carry the boxes over to the cashier started to walk away. Walk away and take away his sugar.
“No, no, no, no, I really need this.” He desperately tried to explain, three seconds away from begging those guys not to take away the products he spent two whole hours gathering. He turned back to you, a small panicked expression on his face, even if he still tried to sound polite. “I’m sorry, can you tell them not to take those away, please?”
“I’m sorry, but you either get the money, or you don’t get the sugar.” You explained, the answer is almost automatic by now.
“Can’t I pay in any other way? I’ll do anything, I swear.”
You stopped for a moment, looking at Willy with furrowed eyebrows and a confused look. Looking him up and down, he surely didn’t mean it in that way. He didn’t seem like the guy to suggest so.
“Yeah, no.” You shrugged.
Willy groaned, stressfully passing a hand through his hair. He looked around, hopeful that the answer to his problems would fall from the sky like some magical miracle. It happened before.
“What about work?” An idea popped up in his brain, expectancy coming back to his voice. “You said you’re short-staffed. Let me work here for a while; I’m certain that I can pay off my sugar with work.”
It wasn’t a lie. Things had been hell for the past weeks after the other big store that sold sugar not far from there mysteriously closed after some gossip about having sold syrup to some pirates. Wonder what happened.
The matter was that five times more people than expected came over every day, and the store was trying to quickly adapt to the quantity of extra work that they needed to do because of it. Too much work for the number of staff you had. “For the amount that you want? Might as well stay over for a whole month.”
“That’s fine with me.” He immediately answered.
Your eyebrows furrowed in surprise, not expecting him to consider and even more accept the offer without a single second of hesitation. “Are you serious?”
“Can’t see why not. I can be a very helpful hand around, and in exchange, you pay me my insanely large amount of sugar I need.” Willy offered, and it was such a good proposal you couldn't exactly refuse.
You found yourself accepting it before your better judgment. One month of help in exchange for products felt a great deal right now, especially when hiring new people had been so hard since last spring.
You guided him over to the back of the store, where you had the break room and your office, telling him to wait a second before finding the stack of blank working contracts. Of course, you had to change some aspects of it, but Willy paid no mind to waiting, looking around the room while you typed on the typewriter a brand new contract for his situation.
“Well, you said you don’t live here, and it’d be hard to find a place to stay. I have a smaller service room in the back where you can sleep. There’s a drawer and a bathroom.” You explained the contents of the agreement carefully. “I have coffee, I can offer you lunch, but dinner will have to be on you.”
You ran over some other topics, such as the case of injuries, harassment of stressed clients, hours of work, weekends, and the final payment and how it would be done by all the sugar he was going to buy. When you finally finished, you handed him the clipboard with the contract. “You can look at the details.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s amazing.” Willy nodded, taking hold of the clipboard and the pen, running his eyes through the text for less than five seconds, and immediately signing it.
Your eyebrows raised in surprise. The lack of hesitation in accepting it was a little strange. “You didn’t even read.”
“Oh, no, I can’t read.” He casually spoke, as if the information he just gave wasn’t that all important. “Never really learned it.”
You looked at him with wide eyes. Maybe not because he couldn’t read - maybe he had a reason for such - but because he was just so… trusting with whatever was written in the contract you handed him. “You can’t?”
“Seemed like a waste of time.” The man explained, handing you the signed papers back. “Less time learning about letters meant more time learning about and making chocolate!”
You got the contract in your hands again, looking down at the bottom where Willy Wonka was clearly written in the dotted line. He really hadn’t read the whole thing and accepted it with no judgment or suspicion.
“Willy, you can’t just do that. It’s dangerous.” You tried to explain. “You can’t just live out in the kindness of others.”
He didn’t seem convinced at all. “Are you going to deceive me somehow?” He joked, but it was a serious question for you.
“What? No, of course not.”
Willy clapped his hands together, satisfied with the answer. “Then it’s all set up! When do I start?”
You blinked twice, feeling defeated. “Don’t go around signing things when you don’t know what they mean.”
“Okay, boss.”
Even if it seemed like he was listening closely to everything you said until now, that exact advice didn’t seem to exactly stick to his brain.
“What can I already start helping around?” Willy immediately said, barely as you finished confirming the contract and pulling out a folder from one of the cabinets to store it. You look up at him, furrowing your eyebrows.
“Already want to work? It’s not a problem to start by tomorrow morning.”
“I pay no mind.” He assured you, a small genuine smile appearing on his face. “It would be great.”
And in between all that stress, you managed to smile back at him. In fact, it seemed hard not to.
There were several things around that needed to be done, and even if the ideal was to have seven of you, one extra Willy Wonka was already much better. Between organizing shelves, and helping clients find stuff as much as he could (wandering around for hours gave him a pretty good idea where everything was located), things were flowing decently.
Willy knew how to count, which was of great help, but his inability to read was indeed a problem, especially when his organization was much more pattern and color-based than actually reading stuff. He couldn’t understand the shopping lists the clients handed him, or even the orders he tried so hard to organize only by matching the letters of the words. You couldn't complain, he was truly doing his very best, and he was good at it.
For the first day, he had to find you around six times to know which flavour he was looking at, just to know where he had to stock it.
“And this one?” He came up to you, who was sitting by the counter writing the orders to be prepared for the next day, and showed one of the packages he had to organize, a light green refined sugar.
“Oh, that’s bubblegum.” You looked up and answered in the same beat.
“Why is it green?”
“Bubblegum can be green. Green bubblegum”
Willy looked skeptical. “Don’t you think pink or blue would be better? It would make more sense.”
“It refused to be any other color.”
That didn’t answer Willy’s question at all. “It? As in the sugar?” He blinked twice, his brain trying to reason. “What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
You returned to writing something down on the paper in front of you. Willy looked confused for some more seconds, looking at the package and then at you, before just shrugging and accepting the answer, turning away to put them in place.
That’s how the day went. Stressful as always, but with one more person in an attempt to make it better. It didn't work much, as everything continued to be more than either you, Willy, or anyone else could handle, but everyone was satisfied upon heading out of your store, and for now, it was what mattered.
Long after the sun had already set in the sky, the last client finally left, and you turned the sign on your door from open to closed. It was a relief, your employees helping to clean the place and sweep the floor before they went away, leaving just you and Willy.
“Tired?” He asked, after helping clean the counter. He quickly learned that not cleaning a place full of sugar immediately brought a lot of problems later. Ants.
“Exhausted.” You sighed, rubbing your hands through your face. You weren’t used to being asked how you felt after working all day, and Willy asked it so genuinely that it almost made you want to rant your whole life to him. A little strange for a guy you just met. “You must be too. Come on, I’ll show you your room.”
Your house was located right behind your store, with a door connecting from your office. Passing by your living room and kitchen with Willy, both entering a small room at the end of the hallway. Certainly supposed to be some sort of guest room, it had a bed, another door that was probably a bathroom, a drawer, and a small desk. Nothing much, but the place was well cleaned, the bed was organized, and it looked overall comfortable. At least, the young man seemed to like it a lot.
“You have such a nice place.” He exalted, a pleased look on his face as he looked at the room that would be his for the next month. "I adored in here."
“Thank you.” You appreciated it, the smallest redness of embarrassment coloring your face. “Got baggage? I can help you bring it.”
“Oh, no need. I’ll grab my stuff on the boat I came from tomorrow. Hopefully they’re still there.” He joked, but it seemed like a small, genuine fear of his that his boat would go away with his stuff. After all, this was supposed to be a one-day trip. “What time do you need me?”
“I’ll be up around 6, the store opens at 8. No need to be so early, but I might have breakfast.”
“That’s perfect.”
“Need a clock?”
“Got one.” He cheekily answered, reaching out for his top hat and pulling out a whole alarm clock from it. The sight made you confused for a second, but you could only chuckle.
“You’re full of surprises.” You nudged his arm.
“I’m flattered.” He lightly bowed his head, and it was his turn to have his cheeks lightly red.
You went over to the door, hand already on the outside doorknob. “Goodnight, Willy.”
“See you in the morning. Thank you for everything.” He waved goodbye.
“Call me if you need anything.” You waved goodbye back at him, as you closed the door.
